CAPTION: The Training Field.

Charlestown Preservation Society representatives outlined preliminary plans to add historic signage to the Training Field during a community meeting Monday night.
The City of Boston’s Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund, which provides grants for the beautification of public spaces in the city, recently awarded CPS $50,000 for the interpretative signage program for the Training Field, (There are currently no readily available signs, markers or guidebooks detailing the site’s history and importance, although it is located along the Freedom Trail).
The signage will consist of four or five interpretative panels exploring five major themes: the Training Field’s 17th century origins as a pastureland and colonial militia training ground; its role in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill; its rebirth as a schoolyard, urban park and site of political rallies; the significance of an on-site Civil War monument; and threats to the site’s existence in the 19th and 20th centuries.
CPS intends to hire four or five professionals, including professional researchers and an historic landscape architect, to research, design and fabricate the signage, following other models at Boston parks and historic burying grounds. The Browne Fund and the city’s Parks & Recreation Department must then approve all aspects of the proposed signage. According to CPS Vice President Judy McDonough, fabrication and installation of the signs is expected to take place in the fall of 2009 or spring of 2010, depending on the contract and research process.
The signage project follows the CPS’ recent renovation of the Sailors and Sailors Monument at the Training Field. The granite monument was constructed by Victorian-era sculptor Martin Milmore in 1872 and served as a prototype for countless commemorative statues erected just after the Civil War.
CPS is tentatively planning a follow-up meeting in April and requests that anyone who can provide research leads, documentation or general information about the themes selected for the signage project write to the organization at P.O. Box 290201; call them at 617-241-7500; or contact them via e-mail at info@charlestownpreservation.org.

Neighborhood businesses and a non-residence weren't feeling the holiday spirit after falling prey to a series of breaking and enterings between Christmas Eve and the morning of Dec. 26.
At approximately 1:53 a.m. on Dec. 25, a Main Street business was broken into, but nothing was reportedly taken from the establishment, according to Boston Police.
At 11 p.m. on Dec. 25, police responded to a Bunker Hill business and found items scattered about the location. The owner couldn’t be reached at the time, and it wasn’t immediately known if items had been taken from the site.
At 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 26, a victim reported that a non-residence on Bunker Hill Street was broken into and a small amount of money was stolen.
A Main Street business was broken into sometime between Dec. 24 and 26, and cash registers were stolen from the scene.
A City Square business was also burglarized between 1:25 a.m. on Dec. 24 and 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 26. Employees said, “the cash drawer was compromised,” according to police.
In all the incidents, the establishments were entered forcibly through the front door.
Captain Bernie O’Rourke of Boston Police Area A-1 said the matter had been turned over to detectives who were investigating a possible connection between the crimes.

Just about everyone I grew up with played some kind of sport. Whether it was football, hockey, baseball or basketball, we all played something, and most of us played them all.
During the early ‘60s, Charlestown was represented by three football teams in the Boston Park League at different levels. After the regular season was completed, some of the members from all three teams would get together on Sunday mornings during the winter to play touch football on Terminal Street. It was cold, and it rained and snowed, but we showed up every Sunday morning.
We had “BLT” Tommy Doherty, “YP” Paul Troy, “Tweeto” Eddie Collins, “Puggy” Mitchell, “ON” (pronounced Owen) Lonnie O’Neil, “Flap” Richie Lyman, “Cadillac” Joe Considine and many more. The rules were very simple: One goal line was a telephone pole, while the other goal line was another pole 50 yards away; and three completions over the line of scrimmage was a first down.
After a long Park League season, everyone wanted to play a different position. For example, BLT played offensive center for the town team, but on Sunday mornings, he wanted to be the quarterback. He had a very unique, although sometimes confusing, way of calling a play. One time, he said, “Flap, I want you to go out, not too far, just far enough, and I’ll throw it to you.”
Flap had a puzzled look on his face and questioned the call: “Well, what’s too far and what’s just far enough?”
On another Sunday, when the snow was coming down, we had to step aside for the plow to plow as the snow started to pile up. Looking back, it must have looked odd seeing grown men playing in the snow on a Sunday morning.
Anyway, different game different quarterback: Enter Tweeto, offensive tackle for the Falcons. Tweeto called the huddle: “Look, Puggy, see that snow bank over there?”
Puggy looked at the snow bank. “Don’t look, don’t look, Puggy!” Tweeto shouted.
Puggy replied, “You just told me to look at the snow bank!” Tweeto quietly relied, “Go into the snow bank. They’ll never expect it. Everyone else run the other way.”
The play worked like a charm. Pug, who was in the snow bank, caught a perfect spiral from Tweeto and started running through the waist-high powder. Halfway to the goal line, he ran into a hydrant hidden by the snow.
Cadillac shook his head and said, “Wow, that last guy hit Puggy kind of hard.”
New Sunday, new game, new quarterback: Enter ON, defensive end for the Falcons. He would go into the huddle and with a very serious look, say to me: “Danny, this is your play. This is the play we’ve been waiting for all year. I want you to go up to Bunker Hill Street get on the bus, go to Haymarket Square, do a button hook, and I’ll fake it to you.”
Everyone laughed. We didn’t have any plays. We were just a bunch of football players having fun on Sunday mornings after the season ended. When the game was over, we usually went to Joe’s Pizza Garden and joked about the game.

The Charlestown Preservation Society has announced the first round of mini-grants for 2009.
CPS mini-grants are small award grants of up to $250 to support non-profit organizations and activities “that further the CPS mission of preserving Charlestown’s architectural heritage and quality of life,” according to a statement made by the organization. All applicants must be Charlestown-based non-profits, and grants aren’t awarded automatically to past recipients. CPS board of trustees will review each request and then determine the award recipients. (The organization reserves the right to reject any application following a discussion and vote by the board).
Applications must be submitted to CPS by Monday, Feb. 2, for consideration at the February board meeting. The next grant round will be awarded in May.
Mini-grant applications are available at the CPS Web site: http://www.charlestownpreservation.org. For more information, please e-mail info@charlestownpreservation.org or call 617-241-7500.